A non-human primate autism model based on maternal infection

Viral infections activate the immune system, causing inflammation and other defensive responses throughout the body. The immune activation is critical for the mother to fight infection, but mouse studies have shown that this also results in immune activation in the placenta and the fetus. It is possible that these immune responses may remain active in the offspring, which could be linked to the abnormally high frequency of inflammation in the brains of people with autism. To study this phenomenon, Patterson and his team induced an immune response to viral infection in pregnant mice and found that the offspring have several characteristics of autism. They also have fewer Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum, mimicking a pathology seen in the brains of people with autism. Patterson and Amaral plan to extend this model to rhesus monkeys. The social behaviors of rhesus monkeys have been thoroughly cataloged, allowing researchers to detect subtle differences in the ways the animals interact with each other and with their mothers. The researchers plan to perform post-mortem autopsies to look for the neurological causes of the observed behaviors, in particular inflammation and neuronal damage. These studies could have important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of autism.